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Non-GMO Product Spotlight – Annie’s Homegrown

GMO websites are never lacking in lists of products to avoid when you’re trying to eat GMO-free. Yes, we’ve got lists like that too (“Corporate Owned Organics” being one of our most popular), but we’d like to take a more positive approach in helping you fill your shopping cart.

Starting this month, we’re going to post regular articles that spotlight organic, GMO-free product manufacturers—with a focus on those that are backed by a healthy dose of integrity, sustainability, and overall do-good-for-the-community.

First up in our spotlight of outstanding Non-GMO brands is… (drum roll please)…

Annie’s Homegrown / Annie’s Naturals

Founded / Owned by:
Annie Withey co-founded Annie’s Homegrown with Andrew Martin in 1989. The company remains privately-held to this day.

Products:
Mac-n-cheese in a box, granola bars, fruit snacks, salad dressings, BBQ sauces, mustard, pizza-in-a-box, and tasty cheddar “bunnies” (crackers) to replace those GMO-laden cheddar goldfish you’ve been eating. The majority of these products are organic and GMO-free, but always check the label to confirm which product is which.

GMO Stance:
Annie’s believes you have the right to know what’s in your food. The company is firmly opposed to genetically engineered ingredients, and donated $50,000 in support of California’s GMO Labeling Proposition 37. Read more about their GMO commitment by clicking here >

What Makes ‘Em Extra Special:

Annie’s goes out of its way to support the organic industry: during 2011, Annie’s purchased 23.5 million pounds of organic ingredients, a 21% increase over 2010. Example: all of the organic cheese in their organic mac-n-cheese products is sourced from Organic Valley, a farmer-owned cooperative made up of more than 1,600 farmers across the country.

Annie’s even supports organic at the workplace: they maintain on-site container and hanging wall gardens that produce pounds of organic vegetables and herbs for their employees to take home each week, including cucumbers, pole beans, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, lettuce, and carrots.

Even the packaging of Annie’s products are carefully considered for eco-sustainability: they target the use of 100% recycled content with a minimum of 35% post-consumer content for their cardboard, they strive to choose materials that consumers can recycle through their local systems, and many of their carton suppliers use vegetable-based inks for printing. In the event that consumers can’t recycle the boxes, Annie’s has come up with creative suggestions for reuse, including creating bookmarks, gift boxes, or canvases for artistic endeavors.

Their community commitment is no less important: Annie’s Grants for Gardens program provides donations to school gardens and other educational programs that connect children directly to gardening–to date they’ve funded over 250 gardens.

Checked over my box of Annie’s Mac and Cheese (one of the ones that only professes organic pasta, NOT 100% organic) and I finally found a statement at the bottom of the ingredient list saying that they “source only ingredients stated to be free of gmos”. There’s also a sentence about rBST-treated cows that you only find on products using non-rBST dairy. There’s no non-gmo label.

Yes, Annie’s has two options for most of their products (“The majority of these products are organic and GMO-free, but always check the label to confirm which product is which.”) The fastest way to make sure you are choosing GMO free (on any product, Annie’s included) is to choose the box with the round USDA Organic label. :-)

I cant speek for the other people here that asked questions but I think what they are trying to ask as am I is… Your box of Annies say non-GMO on the box under the ingredients list. It states that in the smallest way. My question is why isnt it the green check with the orange butterfly on it that says VERIFIED. From my understanding that is the only certified NON GMO lable. The VERIFIED lable is proudly placed on the front of the products making it very easy to see. Why isnt your product line seen with that lable?